


Decomissioned

by Iveak



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Androids, Connor is small, Family, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hank wants androids out of his life, Hurt/Comfort, RK900 is not so small, Sumo is good boy, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-01 14:14:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15144887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iveak/pseuds/Iveak
Summary: Hank Anderson lived alone after his son died, that is until an Android child showed up at his door. As the rise in deviancy continues, he is assigned to the cases with another android- the RK900. He then discovers the android 'child' is on his own mission.





	1. Chapter 1

Hank Anderson lived alone.

It hadn't always been that way; he used to have a family. A normal family. More importantly, he had a child. The family he dreamed of did not last long. On October 11th, 2035 Cole Anderson, age six. An android doctor could not save him.

 **August 15th, 2038**  
_Little girl falls to her death after PL600 android malfunctions. DPD have yet to release a statement on the matter. See more on Pg.12_

**November 5th, 2038**

_Roof_  
Hank slowly opened his eyes at the intrusive noise. His hazy mind took a second too long to register that it was, in fact, Sumo who was in front of him. Before he had time to move, the big Saint Bernard dragged his slobbery tongue all over Hank's face. Hank thrust his arms in front of his face, attempting to stop the attack. "Sumo, I'll get yer' food in a second. Fuck off.". He pushed himself up as the hazy memories of last night made their way to the forefront of his mind.

_The picture of Cole sat face down next to him as he chugged his third drink for the night. In front of him sat his outdated phone, a spam email from Cyberlife on the screen. It was an advertisement, for some new 'custom' child android._

_"What a bunch of sick fucks," Hank slurred before his eyes slowly glanced over to the face-down photo, he took the photo of Cole and stared at it, looking back and forth between him and the advertisement. His insides coiled at the thought of replacing his son... but it had been two years._

_Suddenly, Hank's phone left his hand and flew across the room, attempting to get the thought out of his mind. He only had one son. One son that was dead, an android fucked up and he wasn't going to go and buy one because of it. Especially not one that looked like his own son._

Hank quickly shook off everything that had happened the previous night and made his way into the kitchen, Sumo following close behind. As he passed by the tv, he noticed they were celebrating the first 'Android Zoo' to open that morning in Detroit. "What a load of bull shit." he growled, grimacing at the announcer's perky voice.

In the back of his mind Hank couldn't help but wonder if Cole would've been interested in going. He shook his head, cursing Cyberlife for the onslaught of Cole-related thoughts. He snatched the bag of dog food from the floor and filled up Sumo's bowl. Once he was finished, Sumo began to almost inhale the food in front of him. Bits of dog kibble dribbled out of his massive jaws and plinked back into the bowl. Hank smiled at the sight and patted his head. "Good dog."

Hank spared a glance at the clock. Noticing it was already three in the afternoon, he decided to take the day off work and head down to Jimmy's Bar later. He sat down on the couch, switching between television shows before settling on something he wouldn't remember within ten minutes. Sumo jumped up next to him and he began to lightly stroke his soft fur. "Who's a good boy?" Sumo responded by licking his face. Hank fell asleep in ten minutes.

There was knocking at the door. Sumo let out a short low growl before giving up and laying his head back down on his sleeping master. The next knock on the door echoed loudly through the house, causing Hank to shoot up from his bed and rub his eye. "What the fuck... Agh, Sumo get off." He stood up from the coach after pushing Sumo off, then stumbled his way to the door in a sleepy haze. He looked through his peephole to see a kid. Confused, he opened the door. 

"Hello Lieutenant Anderson, my name is-" 

Hank cut the boy off. "Who the fuck are you?" He squinted, the sleep still weighing his eyes down.

"As I was saying, my name is Connor. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant." The boy, Connor, was standing straighter than a plank. His hair had a curl off the left side, and he looked like he had a stick up his ass. 

"What do you want, kid, how'da know my na-" His words were cut off as he noticed the glowing LED light on the right side of his temple. 

"Oh-ho no, fuck this shit. Get outta here." Hank began to close the door in the android's face, but as he did so a hand shot oout. "Please!" Hank froze and slowly opened the door, his mind on high alert. He stared at the android, leaning against the door frame, wanting nothing more than to go down to Jimmy's Bar. After a second of silence, he moved his hand in a 'Go on' motion.

"My name is Connor, I was assig- I am requesting that I stay with you." On a second thought, it added, "Please." 

Hank let out a harsh laugh. "You've got to be kidding me," Hank was about to close the door for the final time before he froze, his eyes catching on his cracked phone midway through the hall. He turned back to stare at the kid, hating the way his heart reached out to it. Hated the way this android made him feel. "Come in, but you've got some explainin' to do." 

The android boy followed him inside and shut the door behind him. "Thank you, Lieutenant," the android took a quick step back at the sight of Sumo walking up to him. The dog sniffed Connor and then decided that this stranger deserved a lick. Connor looked up to Hank with a synthetic smile, "You have a dog? I like dogs! What's his name?" 

Hank let out a gruff huff before answering, "Sumo."

As they entered inside Hank looked at the clock, noticing it was now ten thirty at night. If he wanted to go to Jimmy's bar it would be ideal to go sometime soon. After he figured out what was up with the android boy, 'Connor'. "Ah, you could stay." He hesitated, looking to Cole's old room. 

The android seemed to pick up on his distress and interjected. "I do not need a bedroom to stay in as I require no actual sleep; I can stand in the corner if I need to go into stasis." 

Hank stared at the android for a second before giving a nod of his head. "Yeah, yeah sure." He said, not understanding what he was saying. "On another note, ah, Connor? I need to be somewhere." 

"Oh, is it the case, Lieutenant?" 

Hank looked at the android with a confused squint, Connor realised his mistake but just kept smiling. Hank shook his head and started to head out; he picked up his phone along the way and saw that his phone had over fifteen messages from Fowler, his boss, about a new case. He skimmed over the majority of them, muttering about how shit his day had been. 

Before he exited, Connor spoke up. "And, Lieutenant, I ask you do not tell anyone I'm here." 

Hank leaves with a distracted nod. "Sure, kid.".

**10.59pm**

Hank entered the bar; the people around the room gave him small nods or hellos. He responded to a few before sitting down at his normal stool. "The normal, Hank?" Jimmy asked. Hank gave a small nod, stuffing his phone into his pocket. "What's been happenin'," Jimmy raised an eyebrow as he poured Hank's drink. Hank let out a grunt in response. "Ah yes, same ol' shit then?" He sat the drink on the bar counter and Hank began to drink it. 

**11.12pm**

An android entered the bar. Hank had a sinking feeling it was for him, and sure enough, it was. "Hello, my name is Connor, I am the android sent by Cyberlife." Hank turned his head to look at the android, expecting the android who entered his home, but what he got instead was a ‘grown’ android with different facial features. the only thing similar was the name and hair.

The android persisted, insisting that they go to the crime scene together. It took a lot of convincing but Hank caved in. At least he got a free drink from it.

**November 6th, 12.00am**

Hank entered his home with a tired groan, they finished up fairly quickly thanks to the android, but the licking. The _Licking_. Hank shivered, "Plastic prick." He muttered under his breath. He managed his way into the kitchen, wondering why Sumo hadn't come to greet him like he normally did. When Hank entered the kitchen, he thought he saw a small blue light through his sleep-clouded eyes but shook it off, deciding it must be from being with that android too long. He reached for the light and flicked it on with a yawn. 

"Hello Lieutenant." A voice sounded from his left. 

Hank dropped his keys and jumped back against the wall, breathing heavily. He saw that it was just the child android and stared at it with many mixed emotions. "The fuck Cale-" 

"It's Connor." 

"What the fuck!". Connor was sitting at the kitchen table, one hand placed in its lap and the other in a constant state of patting Sumo. 

"While you were gone I cleaned up around your house." Hank had forgotten about the android that had taken up space in his house. He found that he had already begun to regret that lapse in judgement. It was then he noticed the song playing in the background. 

"Is that Jazz..?" 

"Yes, I saw that the Jazz disks were the ones that have received the most usage over the years so I decided to play it for when you got home." Connor looked as if he wanted praise for what he did, it was a weird look for an android, Hank thought.

"Ah, ah, no android is allowed to touch my shit, got it?" Hank shot a warning glare at the android. 

Connor swiftly nodded his head. "Noted." 

Hank retrieved his keys off of the floor. Sumo noticed his presence and came to lick him, Hank ignored the dog as he put up the keys and then retrieved a beer from the fridge. "I thought androids were meant to be a pleasant thing to keep around the house, shows me wrong. Plastic shits." He didn't notice as Connor's LED blinked yellow. 

"I made you some food, your cupboards were lacking ingredients but I made do, it's in the fridge." 

Hank huffed as he got the meal from the fridge. He then sat across from Connor. "So, what? You look like one of those child androids but act more like a, I dunno, one of those other ones." Connor just gave him another synthetic smile, which caused Hank to huff and stuff a mouthful of food into his mouth. It tasted horrible. About to make a comment on the taste, he opened his mouth to speak, but as he looked up to Connor he found that he couldn't speak ill of the cooking. There was a small... something in his eye, Hank couldn't put his finger on it, but it almost looked human. 

"This tastes good." He said, a little forced but the android seemed more than happy with the comment. Hank felt his heart warm, thoughts of Cole flooding through his mind. 

_"Dad! Dad! Look!" Cole held out a plate filled with cookies in front of him. Hank smiled and took one with a smile, gasping as soon as he took a bite. "This is wonderful, Cole!" Cole's eyes lit up at his father's compliment, he ran forward and wrapped his arms around him. No. Stop._

He shoved the memories aside and stood up, holding the alcohol in a tight grip and leaving the plate of food on the table. He paid no mind to the android as he left to drink alone in his room. Hank regretted letting the android stay with him, it was a mistake, a drunken mistake. Tomorrow he will kick it out.

**9.00am**

"Good morning, Lieutenant, it is nice to see you up early." Hank waved his hand in the direction of the android, hoping he would get the hint to shut up. He didn't. "I made you breakfast, it is a classic breakfast of eggs and toast. I did not know if you could handle-" 

"Would you shut up, it's nine o'clock in the fucking morning." He said as he started to make his coffee, ignoring the breakfast that was sitting on the table.

"Yes, Lieutenant, apologies." 

Hank stared at him for a solid thirty seconds, his mind still dead from the previous night. If he thought hard enough he could pretend it was his- "No." Hank muttered, going to feed Sumo before realising that it had already been done by the android. 

"Sorry, Lieutenant?" 

He turned to look at the android, "Nothin'. And stop callin' me Lieutenant. It's just Hank." Connor gave a nod, sitting on the ground next to Sumo as he messily ate his kibble. He seemed to really like the dog. _It_ seemed to really like the dog. Hank reminded himself

“I am going to work soon, don’t touch anything, got it?” Hank took his keys from the counter. Connor looked up and tilted his head to the side in such a _human_ way.

“Aren’t you going to eat your food, Lieu- Hank.” Hank stared at him, he couldn’t get his mind off of Cole. Giving in, he nodded and sat at the table. Connor immediately sat across from him, staring as Hank took his first bites. The food had improved, but only slightly.

“Do you mind?” Hank said after the staring became too much. Connor continued to watch him, not understanding, only tilting his head.

“Sorry, l-Hank, what do you mean?” Hank just shook his head and continued to eat. Connor tilted his head and continued to stare. When Hank was nearly finished, Connor stood up and navigated around him to Sumo. Hank could have sworn he felt something brush against him but shook the thought.

Hank set the plate down in the ever-growing pile of dishes near the sink. “I’m heading out now, goodbye… Connor.” He added the last part hesitantly, not sure if calling it by its name would cause him to get attached. The android simply nodded and stood up, walking to stand in the corner. Hank didn’t want to think about it standing all day creepily staring so he quickly left. 

The drive to the DPD was as boring as normal, the traffic on the heavier side that morning. He got his normal cup of coffee and pulled into the DPD. The second he entered, he wanted to leave. 

The android from last night was there.


	2. Chapter 2

**November 6th, 10.00 am**  
“Oh, Jesus..” Were the first words muttered out of his mouth when he saw the android standing at his desk. An unnaturally cheerful grin was plastered on its face, the one that most androids seem to have. The one that Hank absolutely hated.

It seemed his life had been officially taken over by androids. Despite all his best efforts for that _not_ to happen. Hank mentally cursed as the android opened it’s mouth to speak. 

“Hello, Lieutenant, it is a pleasure to see you again.” The android stood tall, much taller than Hank. The events of last night affected it, it seemed more… cocky now, more of an asshole. 

Or perhaps he just hated androids.

Hank prepared a sarcastic response in his mind; he was not in the mood to deal with another android this morning. Before he had the chance to share it with the world, Fowler’s voice rang out through the precinct.

“Hank, in my office!” Fowler’s voice often demanded the attention of the whole room and this time was no different. The eyes of everyone else in the area turned to Hank as he quietly groaned. He then made his way into Fowler’s office as he had been instructed to do, not wishing to bring any more attention to himself. 

Fowler was an old friend of his turned boss. They knew each other in the academy, It was probably the only reason Hank hadn’t been fired for all of his slip-ups yet. But from the look on Fowler’s face, Hank knew this wasn’t going to be a fun time.

The way his eyes looked between him and the android, which Hank did not even know was there until that moment, it seemed that he was going to address the topic of the android. As long as working with the thing wasn’t a full-time thing, he thought.

 _It was a full-time thing_.

Hank slumped into his chair with a groan. First, the child android showed up at the door to his house, and then, another android of the same name showed up at his bar claiming to be his partner. Unfortunately, it turned out the android actually _was_ his partner and now he has to investigate deviants with it. 

He paused, an odd thought passing through his mind, _What if the child android was a deviant._ It had slipped Hanks mind before, simply because the android reminded him of… past events, which in turn caused Hank to pull an unintentional blind eye to the whole situation. 

Hank decided he needed to look into this.

The chair Hank was sitting on swivelled around to face the screen in one fluid motion. He glanced over his shoulder to see where the android was, noting that he was in the break room, Hank looked back to his computer. The deviant files popped up onto his screen with a few clicks.

 _ **Search** …__  
_**Search**... Connor_

_No results_

_**Search** … Child android_

_No results_

Hank glared at his computer screen and then proceeded to type in every detail he caught about the boy. _The android_. Hank had to stop confusing it with a real person.

After trying everything that came to mind he gave up, mind swarming with thoughts and doubts about the android that was currently alone with his dog. Hank leaned back in his chair just as the android walked over holding a steaming coffee cup. 

“He did not accept my coffee,” Connor spoke in a monotone voice but looked down at the coffee, disappointed.

“The fuck, Connor?” Hank looked up to the android with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, what was the android on about? There was also an underlying frustration about not being able to find information about the child android that caused his eyebrows to further furrow. 

It worried him.

The android ignored his words and sat the cup down onto the desk. “I will find a way to deliver coffee to Detective Reed.” It proceeded to sit down at the desk opposite Hank. Hank was confused as to why the android assumed that desk was his, thinking about it, a lot of things confused him when it came to that android. 

Hank reached his hand into his back pocket in an attempt to grab his phone so that he could see if he had received any messages. He was startled to find that it wasn’t there. “What-” The chair rolled back as Hank stood up and began to frantically search all of his pockets for his phone. 

“What seems to be the problem, Lieutenant Anderson?” Connor’s eyes peeked over the terminal, his eyes had a hint of genuine curiosity in Hank’s situation. 

“I-” He checked his drawer. “Lost my fucking-” He checked underneath his desk, staying down there for a good while before standing and looking at the android. “What did you do with it?” Hank’s eyes were blaming as he started to walk around the desk. 

The android stood up.

“Sorry, Lieutenant, I don't know what you are talking about.” Hank grabbed him by the collar, pushing him against the desk. The android’s eyes widened slightly before returning to their original size. 

He needed someone to blame, needed someone to get mad at. Everything had been fucking up for him and he just wanted to be mad. He also wanted his phone back, and that plastic shit was the most obvious person who could have taken it.

“Don’t pull that ‘Sorry, Lieutenant’ shit with me, you plastic fucking asshole. I know you had something to do with it.” Hank tightened his grip on the Android, ready to throw a punch his way. The LED on the android’s head blinked yellow for a few seconds.

“Your phone is located at 115 Michigan Drive, Lieutenant.” The android’s LED returned to blue as Hank reluctantly let him go, taking a few steps back with a heavy sigh, running a hand through his hair. When he looked around the room, he saw that many people were staring at them, entertained by his yelling at the android.

“Oi, get back to work, nothin’ to see here!” He barked out. He then muttered under his breath, “Guess I have to go back home now, waste of fucking gas.” Hank grabbed his jacket in preparation to leave. 

“Actually, Lieutenant, a lead on the AX400 model’s whereabouts was placed in the police database. I suggest we go there first.” 

Hank didn’t like how ‘factual’ the android was, it ticked him off.

Without a word, Hank walked off towards the entrance of the DPD, barely giving the android a nod in response to what he said. He wished an actual person could have been the one to tell him the information, Why did it have to come through the glorified computer? 

The android followed him closely, keeping his eyes glued onto him as he followed his exact steps. Once they were in his car, the android wasted no time beginning a conversation. 

“I see you like the Knights of the Black Death, I have listened to your music file and determined that the music is less than ideal.” 

Hank glared, the android stated it like it was a fact, which seemed to put Hank even closer to the edge. “My music taste is none of your fuckin’ business.” Gripping the steering wheel tighter, he muttered, “‘Ideal’, it’s fuckin’ music... asshole.” 

“I am sorry, I did not mean to-” The android tried to recover from his mistake, it didn’t sound like he was genuinely sorry. It sounded like he was just another android designed to fit in.

“Ah.” Hank snapped a finger in front of the android’s mouth, done with this _lovely_ ‘conversation’ they were having. “How about we have a quiet ride.” 

Connor nodded his head. Hank sighed in relief.

Three minutes later he spoke again. Hank groaned.

“You have a dog. Dog’s are a great companion for most humans. According to many online forums, dogs are also great at relieving stress.” The android looked like he had more to say, to Hank’s dismay, he also looked like he was going to continue to say those things.

“Do you always sound like a fucking dictionary? Or is that just to annoy me.” Hank spoke rhetorically, the android opened his mouth to answer, before he had a chance to speak Hank pulled over and loudly stated. “We’re here.”

**10.25am**

The two stepped out of the car. Hank moved to a vantage point a couple of steps down the street and began to examine his surroundings. 

The first thing that caught his eye was a motel on the right end of the street. The second thing was a convenience store on the opposite end. He gestures for Connor, who was talking to a police officer, to check it out while he walked to the motel. Before he got two steps in, the android stopped him.

“Lieutenant, I already checked the footage of the store.” Connor must have seen the questioning look on Hank’s face because he decided to elaborate. “I hacked it from the outside, these cameras are all connected, see?” He quickly pointed them out before continuing. “Anyways, the deviant entered the store last night with a little girl. She stole some food as well as a stuffed animal and left across the street. I couldn’t see after that.”

The blinking of the big sign that read ‘parking’ caught Hank’s eye, it was across the street, hovering near a fenced-in area. He pointed it out to the android. “That seems like a good place to check out first.” 

Connor nodded, “I agree.” 

“Try and stay out of my way this time.” Connor nodded absentmindedly and they took off towards the fenced off area. Once they reached it the android stopped him, holding out a hand to the gate.

“It was opened recently.” He pointed towards the recent scuffle marks on the ground. Hank nodded, not seeing but believe trusting his eyesight better than his own. They entered, taking in the scene. 

It was an old area, looked like it hadn’t been used for a long time. There was an old car and a bunch of random piles of junk everywhere. Everything in the fence was covered with at least a thin layer of dirt.

Hank first walked over to the abandoned car and looked through the windows. Nothing. He huffed and proceeded to walk over to an area with different tools strewn about. 

On the stand, there was a faint outline of a tool that must have been laying there for a while before being moved to another location. The dirt temporarily imprinting its shape onto the stand. “I think I found something Connor,” Hank called out to Connor, who was on the other side of the lot.

“I think I’ve found something as well, Lieutenant!” Hank turned around to see Connor lifting up a broken chain link fence, there was enough space inside the gap it left to easily fit a person… or an android. “I detect traces of blue blood, from nine hours ago.”

The fence led to an abandoned house, it looked like it had not been used in years, just as the car did. It gave Hank a weird feeling “Well, let’s go,” Hank commented, somewhat unsure, hoping his feelings did not convey to the android. 

Connor took lead, much to Hank’s delight, walking straight for the front of the house. Hank took this time to look around the unused yard, it was overgrown in most areas. There was an unnaturally shift in the grass, imprinted from the late night dew. Hank ignored this and walked up to Connor, who was already at the door.

Connor startled Hank as he suddenly kicked open the door, not bothering knock or announce their presence in any way. He turned back to Hank and gestured for him to stay outside.

Not completely confident taking orders from the android, Hank was hesitant to stay outside, but still decided to keep a careful watch. 

Muffled voices were heard from inside, Hank mentally confirmed this as the AX400 or at least another deviant. At one point near the end of the conversation, Connor’s voice was heard above everything. “Lieutenant, they are heading out the back door!” 

“Oh, shit.” Hank bolted for the back door, not making it in time as he saw Connor run out just after the deviant and little girl. He kept following the androids, his legs not nearly as fast as theirs. 

They made their way through the streets and down alleys until they reached a fence. Hank caught up, his lungs heaving, right as Connor began to climb the fence that was separating him and his target.

His hand reached out to grab Connor by the coat while calling his name, but the android showed no hesitance or sign that even heard his name. Instead, he climbed up the fence in the blink of an eye, continuing the chase. 

Hank watched as they ran through the street. Once at the middle section, Connor had caught up, his legs obviously more powerful than the deviants'. 

Connor wrapped his arms around the deviant, her own arms thrashing violently against his grip. The deviant shouted something Hank could not hear over the cars, causing the little girl to run down the midsection and across the road, away from the two fighting androids. Hank knew it would do no good to chase the girl through oncoming traffic, so he instead just watched as Connor took down the deviant.

Hank then made his regrettable journey down the slope.

By the time Hank had made it down and Connor had made it back across the road with the deviant, the rest of the police had shown up to take the AX400 away. The android stared in his direction, Her- _it’s_ eyes pierced his own, an almost pleading look attached to them. He couldn’t help but look towards where the little girl went. 

The deviant was put into the police car and driven back to the station in preparation for questioning. Hank turned to Connor, watching him with an analytical eye. If Connor noticed, he paid no attention and made his way up the hill with intentions on going to the car. 

For a second, only a second, Hank wondered if there was something to this deviancy thing.

**11.40am**

Hands were slammed down onto the hard surface separating the RK900 and AX400. “Why did you kill your owner,” Connor shouted at the deviant, the latter of which shrunk back, looking as if she was trying to focus on something else.

They decided to put Connor in there first, the last night of question proved that he was the best for these situations, it was what he was built for after all. _Hank also wanted this over and done with in time for lunch._

“Listen, you can tell me,” Connor suddenly changed his tone, leaning in close, “I’m on _your_ side. I don’t want you to be hurt, but you have to tell me why. Give me some more information. Please.” His eyes were soft as he looked to the android. Connor looked human like this, he looked… _kind_. Hank couldn’t believe his eyes, he also knew it was all an act.

The AX400 looked up to Connor and slowly opened her mouth to speak, “Alice... she didn’t do anything.” 

Connor tilted his head, the kind look still in his eyes, “Alice is the one who was with you, yes?”

 

The deviant nodded her head softly, eyes downcast. “Alice... her father… beat her.” 

He nodded his head, sitting up in the chair, “Todd Williams does not have any children living with him, his daughter lives with his ex-wife.” 

Kara was shocked, “What do you mean, how could you say that! He even said-” She was cut off by Connor’s harsh words.

“I scanned ‘Alice’, she is an android just like you-”

“No, that’s not true-!” 

“She is a YK500 model-” Connor continued speaking, ignoring the yells from the deviant as he went on. He looked _heartless_.

“Stop!”

“Serial number 728-537-192, owner Todd Wi-”

“Please!” Her voice sounded hoarse, Hank could tell that the android was close to self-destructing, she was shaking, her LED blaring red. He wanted to do something. The voice sounded so _human_ and Hank wanted to stop her desperate pleas, but Connor knew what he was doing, right?

“Thirium 310 flows through your body, as it does in her’s.” The AX400 was quiet, glaring at the table. Connor placed his hand on her unmoving one, Hank did not realise that he was getting closer to her until Connor was kneeling next to her. “If you confess, and tell me where she is, I can find her. Keep her safe. I promise.” 

The AX400 gave in and they linked arms, Hank watch in confusion as the skin on their arms vanished, revealing a white plastic underneath. It was over in a second, and as soon as it was, Connor stood up and left the room without a word. 

“I’m done, lock her up.” 

Hank ignored Connor, watching as they took the AX400 away to be put into a cell and then probably transported to Cyberlife. Hank felt.. _guilty_. 

The second he put a word to his feelings, he attempted to shake it off but it didn’t work that time. He felt for this android, it was the second time he empathised with one and he didn’t know how he felt about that. 

Hank shook his head. It was just a once… _twice_ off. He promised himself it would not happen again. Hank decided now was a good time to retrieve his phone from his house, so he turned to tell Con- _the android_ where he was going.

He stopped.

He didn’t need to tell it where he was going.

Hank left for his house.

**12.30pm**

Hank was tired as he entered his house, it was only noon yet everything that had happened that day was causing his movements to slow, in turn causing him to be quieter than usual.  
His mind was preoccupied with thoughts on that little girl and the woman, he left in such a hurry he didn’t get to ask the android for the information he had received about the little girl’s whereabouts. Although from the look on his- it’s face, it seemed as if the android wasn’t planning on sharing that information in the first place.

It made Hank think, properly think, about a case. It was the first time he had done that in a long, long time. It didn’t last long, however, as he noticed the clicking noises coming from the living room. _It sounded like his phone._ The only other person- _thing_ here should be the android child from the previous night.

His thoughts shot back to that morning, trying to find when the android would have had the opportunity to steal his phone. Hank focused his thoughts on the sound, deciding that he would find that out sooner or later as he quietly made his way down the hallway. 

As he looked into the living room. He was met with the sight of Connor sitting on the floor with sumo, his LED a calm blue as he typed on the phone and pet at the same time.

“Connor.” 

Connor quickly stood up, as if on instinct, and held the phone out to him. His LED shot red for a second before changing to a thoughtful yellow. “You left your phone here, so I played the games that were on your phone. I promise.”

The way his words came out at such a fast pace made Hank think it was a lie, but what else could he have been doing with the old phone? Hank made his way over to stand directly in front of him before snatching the phone out of his hands. 

“I said don’t touch my shit,” Hank holds the phone in front of his face, “This counts as my shit.”

Connor nodded his head, “Yes, Lieutenant.” His voice was fast, looking like he wanted to get out the confirmation as soon as possible just to clear the air.

Hank nodded and shoved the phone deep into his pocket, making a note in his mind to be mindful of where it was located. He looked back over to Connor to see his LED blinking yellow, he looked like he was in deep thought, or was in the middle of trying to figure something out. Or perhaps in the middle of planning something. All of which fell under the same umbrella, so Hank didn’t think too much into it.

“Lieutenant, I apologise for not making you food for lunch.” The sudden change in topic confused Hank for a good few seconds before he processed what he meant. 

He chuckled quietly and shook his head, looking at the android. “I’m fine, kid, I was planning to get take out.” For a second, Connor looked like he was going to put his stamp of disapproval on Hank’s choice of food, but before he had the chance, Hank put a finger to his own mouth and shook his head silently. He was done with androids stamps of disapproval.

Connor seemed to get the message and nodded his head, equally as silent. Hank was surprised at how this Conner seemed to know when to shut his mouth, unlike the RK900.

Since the conversation was over, Connor sat back down next to Sumo, laying his head on his exposed belly. He then started to pat him in a very _loving_ way. Hank found that he couldn’t take his eyes off of the sweet sight. His heart was warmed by their interaction. He hated it.

He realised the only reason he hated it was because Connor was an android. If Connor happened to be a human, Hank probably would have already had Connor as his-.

He shut that trail of thoughts off real quick, _he wasn’t going to change his stance on androids anytime soon._ So instead, he tried to pick something else to think about.

The drawer next to the couch was a good start. Hank knew it held his old phone, he also knew it would probably still be able to work. He glanced over to Connor, the small android who was giving buckets full of love to his dog. 

He let out a deep sigh and walked to the side table, having already made up his mind up about what he was going to do with that old phone. What did he have to lose? Pulling the drawer open was hard, it had been a couple of years since he opened it, but he managed just fine.

When it was open, Hank pulled out his old phone and charger. By now, Connor was staring at his actions, head still on Sumo. Hank wandered over to the nearest power outlet and plugged the phone in before turning to Connor. 

“When it is done charging, you can use that phone to play games.” He didn’t say anything else on the topic. He expected to regret his decision right away, but with the way Connor’s eyes lit up…

He wanted to make them stay that way. He wanted to protect that light.

“I am going to get food now. Uh, don’t touch-” under his breath, he muttered, ‘Oh fuck it.’ Then spoke back up, “Don’t break anything.” 

Hank ignored the way Connor seemed to be content with the way things were going, he ignored the way it looked like he was planning something. He ignored the way he wanted him to be an innocent child. 

He also ignored the way he secretly wanted to pretend that Connor was a human. 

_Cole would've liked him._ Was what he did think about, what he focused on as he drove the short distance to his favourite burger place.


	3. Chapter 3

**November 6th, 3.02**  
“Hello, Lieutenant.” 

There goes his quiet lunch. He couldn’t say he didn’t expect it.

“You left the station in a hurry, why?” Connor walked to stand next to him. Hank noticed his eyes staring at his food for a few seconds before looking back up to him. “Your food is very unhealthy, Lieutenant. It would be preferable to-” 

“Oh shut up, Connor. I’m not in the mood for this.” Hank took an aggressive bite of his burger, hoping it’d Connor shut up. He had no such luck, unfortunately.

“Lieutenant, you are never in the mood for ‘this’.” The android’s head tilted to the side, a small smile plastered onto his face. Hank wanted to slap that fake little smile off of his face.

Hank continued to eat his burger. In silence.

Until the android naturally began to pester him with random questions for the rest of his meal. Hank decided to accept his fate and replied to a few, ignoring the rest of them by chewing on his burger until the android moved on to the next question. By the time he was done eating Connor had gone silent, thankfully out of questions to ask. 

Hank decided it was his time to ask a question. 

“Why do you keep insisting on talking to me, I’ve made it clear I am not interested.” hank placed his hands on the table, half turning to face Connor.

The android took his time in answering, “I believe the best way to work together, is to know each other. So, I ask questions and make remarks in an attempt at becoming friends.” He seemed happy with his answer.

Hank scoffed, “Well you are doing a shit job at it.” 

The android avoided his eyes, instead focusing on a fly that was walking around on the table. “My prototype was rushed, they needed someone out right away. Conversation skills were not deemed as important as other functions, so they did not focus on implementing the basics into my program… Along with a few other things they didn’t deem important to the mission... Of course, I could download files off of the internet to make up for it… but that would not be a wise decision considering the things that could be hiding in them.”

“In English?” the second it was out of his mouth, Hank felt like shit for saying it. The android had what could vaguely be described as pain. It was only visible if you squint your eyes, but it was there.

Connor looked up with a smile after a moment's pause, “Oh, it was nothing important, Lieutenant.”

Hank was about to say something, he knew it sounded important, knew that it seemed to… bother the android. He wanted to word it a better way, he wanted to understand. He did not know why he wished to comfort this machine. He just ,em>did.

Before he could say anything, Connor spoke up, “I just got a report of a deviant fifteen minutes away. We should head there now.” 

Hank didn’t speak up, he didn’t bring back the topic, he just nodded his head and left for the car with the RK900 following behind him. He couldn’t believe that he was regretting not talking to an android. 

**3.34pm**

Hank looked up to the building in front of them, it was average size for an apartment, about three stories high. The building looked old, cracks on the side and a pigeon nest on one of the windows. _God, Hank hated birds._ His head turned to Connor, “You sure this is the place?” 

Connor nodded his head, barely reacting to him as he walked past Hank and entered the building. “Positive.” If Hank didn’t know any better, he’d say the android was upset about what had happened, but that was impossible.

The elevator ride was short but awkward, Connor was quiet, not trying to bombard Hank with questions or facts for once. Hank was relieved but at the same time, he almost wished to hear him speak to fill the silence. _Almost._

As the elevator came to a stop, Hank stepped out into the hallway. After a few seconds, he noticed that there was a lack of footsteps following behind him and turned around. “Connor?” 

There was no response. “Connor!” He raised his voice. Shortly after doing so Connor snapped out of it. “The fuck were you doing?” 

Connor gave him a smile. “Sorry, Lieutenant. I was sending a report to Cyberlife.” 

“You can do that, just… in your head?” Hank watched as Connor stepped out of the elevator with a nod. “Damn..” Hank didn’t want to admit that he was impressed but… he was very impressed. 

The duo walked to the door at the end of the hall, “This is the place, Lieutenant.” 

Connor raised his hand to knock on the door. Nothing. He waited for a few more seconds before raising his hand again. 

This time, before he had the chance to knock they heard movement inside. Connor quickly reached for the door handle. Hank, on instinct, moved Connor behind him and held his gun out. “Stay behind me.” 

His foot collided with the door, causing it to burst open. Pigeons flew out of the doorway, making Hank take a few steps back in shock as Connor quickly entered the scene before him.

“He’s not here.” Connor was _upset_ , Hank saw his LED spinning yellow with occasional flashes of red. “Let’s go, we need to find it-” Connor paused, suddenly realising how stupid the decision to leave was after they _just_ heard it inside. He turned around. “Let’s see what is in here first.” 

Hank blinked at Connor, confused. The android always seemed to be on the top of his game, after all, he was an android, but after their conversation earlier, something just didn’t seem right with him. It seemed as if his 'feelings' were even flooding into his precious ‘Mission’. 

“Connor, what the-” He was cut off by a pigeon flying near his face, his hand shot out immediately to get it _away_ from him. 

He hated pigeons. He hated birds. He wasn’t scared of them, at least, he would never admit he was scared of them. He just hated them.

With a groan, he muttered out, “Fucking pigeons.” Hoping to get it out of his system.

It was then he realised the place was covered in pigeons. _Fuck._

Connor started to look for clues, walking through the pigeons like it was no big deal. 

Meanwhile, Hank tried his best to make his way around the pigeons, avoiding contact by all means necessary. 

After five minutes had passed, Hank couldn’t seem to find anything useful. Connor, on the other hand, had found multiple clues. 

As he was looking around the room, he saw Connor leave the bathroom he was just investigating and go to the corner of the room, where there was a hole in the ceiling. 

Hank picked up a book, a real book, and turned the pages. Sometimes it felt like he was the only one in Detroit who even set eyes on a book in the last two years. It was almost a connection that he and the android that lived here had in common. Of course, they could never be friends since he fed wild birds, but the thought was still there. 

Hank opened his mouth to comment on the rarity of the book, but before he could a loud noise came from behind him as he felt something brush hard against his shoulder, almost causing him to fall over.

He regained his balance to see Connor chasing the deviant down the hall. Hank ran to follow as soon as it registered in his brain what had happened, muttering many curse words as he started to chase the two. 

Hank struggled to catch up against the two androids, running after them through the rooftops of Detroit. Ahead of him, he saw Connor gaining on it, jumping over obstacles with ease and dodging the androids which seemed to constantly be in his way. 

At one point, Hank saw Connor jump onto a moving train to follow the deviant. He stopped and stared. “Fuck.” 

He ran around the long way, finding stairs that reached to the rooftop he was hoping they were at. _Fucking stairs_. Just his luck. 

After finally making it up the stairs he ran out onto the roof just in time to see the deviant heading straight for him, taking this as their chance to grab him, Hank attempted to reach out for him. As he was about to take hold of its arm, the android struck out and pushed Hank.

In the blink of an eye, Hank was holding on for dear life over the edge of the building. 

His hands gripped hard onto the edge of the building, holding on to anything he could find. His legs were struggling to try and scramble his way up. In his vision he saw Connor running up to them, the deviant had started to run away and Connor’s eyes were fixated on it. 

Surely he wouldn’t abandon him hanging onto the ledge for dear life.

Connor ran after the deviant. No. _The android_ ran after the deviant. 

After a minute of struggling Hank pulled himself on the ledge and hopped down the roof. His heart was beating a million miles per minute. He was on hyper alert, adrenaline pumping fast through his veins. _He almost died._ And Con- The android just left him there. 

A short distance away, he saw the two androids struggling against each other, ending in the deviant jumping off of the ledge to his death. _Hank didn't care._

He stormed his way over there as C-The android turned around to speak. He didn’t let him. 

A loud slap rang throughout the roof and nearby buildings, the android seemed unaffected. “You-” Hank paused, taking a step back and running a hand over his own face.

“Lieutenant-”

“No.”

Hank glared at the android, his mind racing with the outcomes that could have happened, all the ways he could have died because this _android_ decided not to help him. It truly was just an android. Hank took a deep breath, continuing his glare directed towards the android that stood in front of him.

“I thought-” Hank paused and let out a sigh, “I thought you were-” He shook his head and turned around to leave. “Obviously I was wrong.” He growled out, marching his way towards the stairs.

The android followed him. 

“Lieutenant, there was an 86 per cent-”

Hank snapped around to him, jabbing a finger against his chest. “Shut up. _Shut. Up_. You fucking androids are all the same! Percentage this, percentage that. You can’t just calculate this shit, Connor!” Hank breathed heavily, his hand falling to his side in defeat. 

“Lieutenant, I am sor-” 

“Shut up, just fucking shut up.” 

The android complied. 

Hank turned and left down the stairs.

Once he was in his car, Hank placed his head on the steering wheel. “Fucking androids.” 

He lifted his head and brought it down again, he continued till he was hitting his head hard against the steering wheel. “Fuck. Fuck. _Fuck_.” 

He stopped. He lifted his head up and turned the keys in the ignition, pressing his foot on the gas. He felt numb, he was thinking of Cole. His mind always wandered back to thoughts of Cole as of late. He thought of his favourite movie, Finding Nemo. How nearly every weekend he begged to watch it. How every weekend he would rent it for him. 

_”Daddy! This is my favourite movie!” Cole stood up on the couch, Sumo, getting excited by his loud voice, decided to join him, barking along._

_Hank laughed, “We aren’t even halfway through it yet.”_

_Cole crossed his arms, “But Dad! There are fish!” Cole jumped down off of the couch, Sumo following, and ran around the room making a fish face. “I’m Nemo!”_

_“Cole, calm down, let’s finish the movie.” Hank struggled to say in between laughs. Cole ran back over and proceeded to sit on his lap. Sumo joined them, laying his head onto Cole’s lap._

_Hank smiled._

_He was happy._

Before he knew what he was doing, Hank pulled into a movie rental. There weren’t many of them left, but this one had stayed standing through all these years. The business had obviously been going downhill with all the updates in technology and physical DVDs making way for the large online movie industry. But still, they stood, right next door to an antique store. _How fitting._ Hank thought. 

The door let out a small jingle has he entered into the decently lit building. A place that used to be bright and buzzing with activity in his youth was now down to just him and the human cashier. He headed straight to the children’s movies section and fingered through the options until he found the one he was looking for. 

Why. Why was he getting this movie? Cole was...

Hank grabbed the movie, as he reached out he noticed his hands were still shaking from his recent scrape with death. He ignored his hands and took it up to the cashier, renting it for the week. 

_Cole may have been.. gone… but Connor was waiting for him at home_.

Hank had been gripping onto the thought of Connor being a human child but right then he needed that. 

**4.51pm**

Hank was not quiet when he entered his house that evening, letting everyone know he was there. He entered the living room to see a standing Connor, staring at Sumo as he slept. Hank wanted to question it, but didn’t want to risk the chance that Connor would spew some android nonsense. _He needed to pretend._

“Connor, I rented a movie.” 

Connor turned to Hank, “It is much easier to-” 

Hank held a hand up, giving his best smile. He knew it looked fake, but he couldn’t care less. “Sit down. I’ll put it in.” 

Connor obeyed Hank, sitting on the couch and watching as Hank knelt down and entered the disc into his old DVD player. He then sat next to Connor, waiting for the old disc to go through the beginning sequence. “So, Connor, do you like cartoons?” He turned to the boy, who looked confused, his LED spinning yellow.

At that moment Connor seemed to understand what was going on. 

“Yes. I do.” 

Hank was happy that he was playing along, he knew it was wrong, but he didn’t care at the moment. “What’s your favourite?” 

That seemed to shock Connor and Hank could see him look into the distance as if he was doing a google search of random cartoons. After a second he returned his gaze to Hank.

“Spongebob.”

“You know, I could do a pretty mean Mr Krabs impression.” 

Connor’s LED spun yellow, collecting information. “Show me.” 

Hank then proceeded to do the best Mr Krabs impression he could manage. It had been a few years, but in his opinion, he did great. 

Connor smiled, almost like he actually enjoyed it. It wasn’t a plastic smile, but a real smile. It only lasted a second, however, because the movie started soon after Hank was finished. 

As they watched the movie, Hank kept expecting Connor to do what Cole did. He kept expecting Connor to laugh at certain parts, cry at certain parts or hold his breath at certain parts. He kept expecting Connor to be _human_. 

But he wasn’t. The LED proved it. He was an android. 

A _fucking_ android. He let a _fucking android_ into his house. 

Hank pushed himself off of the couch and quickly entered the bathroom before Connor could question where he was going. He stood against the door, just standing. He took three deep breaths then turned to face the door.

He left the bathroom.

From behind, Connor looked like Cole. _Cole._

He needed to stop thinking about Cole. 

Hank made his way into the kitchen, the movie was almost finished in the background. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and cracked it open on the counter. 

The alcohol burned as it slid down his throat, he didn’t register the pain, having already been through it hundreds of times. Hank was too sober for this, too sober for everything that had been happening. He was thinking too much, happy thoughts of Cole assaulted his mind and then when he was thrust back into the real world he had to face the reality of Cole not being there.

Cole was dead.

He took another gulp.

Cole was _dead._

And another.

_Cole was-_

“I enjoyed the movie, Lieutenant. May I share my thoughts on it?”

He put the bottle down.

“Sure, kid.” He was aware that Connor was faking, but he appreciated it. Connor began to give his ‘thoughts’ on Nemo, overall it sounded like he enjoyed it. Hank sat in his chair, his mind was a rush of everything that had been happening. He needed a drink but it could wait till Connor finished. Maybe even till- 

Connor turned and left the house. Hank sat still for a good few seconds before attempting to follow, but it was too late, the ki- android was gone. 

Done with everything, Hank sat down and tilted up the beer bottle into his mouth. He grabbed another, doing the same. Hank repeated this process until he was drunk.

**7.51pm**

“Wake up Lieutenant, it’s me, Connor!” _Slap_. Hank woke up, not fully realising anything. That android was there.

“Shumo, attack.” Sumo let out a small bark, Hank found it adorable. “Good boy.”

Suddenly he was in the bathtub.

“Sorry Lieutenant, it’s for your own good.” 

Coldwater came crashing over him, making him flail his arms and legs in all directions.

“Agh! Turn it off! Turn it off!” The android finally listened and he was left panting in the tub, now mostly aware of everything. He looked to see The android standing there. “What the fuck are you doing here?” His eyes squinted at the android, confused.

“There was a homicide reported forty-three minutes ago. You were not at Jimmy’s Bar, so I came to see if you were at home.” The android looked down at him innocently, like they were simply talking about the weather.

Hank blinked then proceeded to struggle his way out of the bathtub to sit on the edge, still wobbly. “Jesus, I must be the only cop in the world that gets assaulted in his own house by his own fucking android.” He took a few deep breaths before looking up to C- The Android. “Can’t you just leave me alone.”

“Unfortunately for you, Lieutenant, we were assigned on this case and now we need to-”

“I don’t give a shit about this goddamned case.” The android attempted to say something but Hank shakily stood up and looked to him, “Now beat it!” Hank lost his balance and fell back into the tub. The android watched as he did so, not even offering help, Hank glared. 

The android stared back, unmoving.

“Fine! You know what, fine.” Hank growled, sitting back up on the edge of the tub, running his hands through his hair. At least it would mean the android would be out of his house.

“I will retrieve your clothes.” 

Hank shook his head, “Nuh-uh, I’ll be getting my own clothes. I can-” Hank felt the sudden urge to vomit. He quickly got off of the bathtub and leaned over the toilet, starting to expel the contents of his stomach. 

“I will retrieve your clothes.”

Hank barely managed a ‘fuck you’ as the android left the bathroom.

The Android came back several minutes later, Hank was leaning against the toilet, still feeling sick. “Just-” Hank coughed, “Wait in the living room.” The android left the bathroom once more and Hank proceeded to dress himself, changing into his throw up free clothes. 

As he exited the bathroom he saw the android looking through his stuff. “Oi!” The android snapped his head to his direction and strode over. “Don’t go through my fucking shit, Connor.” 

Connor swiftly nodded his head as he followed Hank to the car, “Yes, Lieutenant.” 

As they were driving to the crime scene, Hank could have sworn he saw the child Connor heading the same way. He ignored it, thinking he was seeing things.


	4. Chapter 4

**8.17pm**

As they pulled up to the Eden Club Hank felt his stomach churn. An android sex club. He didn’t know why it made him as sick as it did. Hank ignored the feeling and they entered the scene.

Once they were inside, Hank let Connor do all the talking. He was instead focused on the vivid lights and androids on all of the walls, eyeing him down. Hank spotted a door directly behind the manager, it was closed off. _That must be the door._

A few minutes later he was proved to be correct when the android turned to opened the door. Hank was hoping for the investigation to be over with quickly and easily, he wanted to get back to his game of drunken russian roulette.

The door opened and Hank growled out a curse word as he met Gavin’s stare. The detective was looking annoyed, but he still smirked at the sight of them in an attempt to make them feel uneased. Hank was used to Gavin’s looks so he ignored him as he spoke. 

“Look what we have here-” 

 

The android interrupted him, “Detective Reed, I am sure what you are about to say will not be helpful for _out_ case. So I am going to kindly ask that you shut up.” Hank was almost proud of the android for that.

“Oh really?” Gavin let out a harsh laugh, glaring at the Android and walking over to them. Hank could see that Gavin was attempting to intimidate the android, but it didn’t react. Even as Gavin was standing directly in front of it, the android just looked down at him. Gavin made a sudden move forward in an attempt to startle the android before backing up and leaving, unsatisfied with the lack of response.

On his way out he called back to them, “It was just a heart attack, by the way, you’re wasting your time.” Hank couldn’t help to notice the way Gavin looked the android up and down as he left the club.

It was well known around the precinct how much of an ass Gavin was. He was overly ambitious, not afraid to tread on others to get to his destination. He was also Cocky as all hell, Hank hated that part the most. 

“He was incorrect.” 

Hank turned to the android. It was still standing in the same place, but its eyes were focused on something beyond the door. Hank turned his attention to inside the room as well and saw the crime scene. 

They entered.

The room smelled of sweat, sex and alcohol. It was a mess, bottles and glasses littered the table near the rounded bed. There was a human body on the bed and an Eden Club android leaned against the wall which looked to be dead as well. 

“The victim was strangled, presumably by the Traci. The Traci’s hand would be the perfect match for the handprints.” As the RK900 was talking, Hank made his way over to the victim. The victim’s neck did indeed have bruising on it that would match with a handprint. 

“So, what about the android? Can you do that, ah, hand hijack thing on it?” The two of them made their way over to the Traci.

The android knelt down, it's LED blinking yellow for a few moments before shaking his head. “This Traci is broken, I can turn it on for maybe two minutes and question it. It will shut down after that.” 

Hank gave a wide gesture to the Traci, “Well be my guest.” 

The android looked up to Hank and tilted its head. “Lieutenant, I am not your guest.” 

“Just-” Hank sighed deeply, “Do your thing.”

“Yes, Lieutenant.”

RK900 then proceeded to ‘do its thing’. It moved its hands delicately and precisely as he worked to turn the Traci back online. 

The second it opened its eyes, the Traci scrambled back, pressing as close to the wall as its body allowed her to. RK900 quickly went forward and grabbed her by the collar. “Why did you kill that man!” 

The Traci had tears streaming down her face. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it soon after, looking terrified. Hank also found the RK900 to be slightly intimidating in that moment. 

“Answer me!” He got up close to her face as he yelled, mock anger radiating from his body with intent to scare. 

“I don’t remember, he rented us and-” The Traci’s cries were cut off by the RK900 standing up. 

“There is another one, that’s the one that caused the death of that man. The other one is the deviant.” The android left the room without another word, leaving the Traci without so much as a second glance. Hank was staring at the Traci as she went limp against the wall soon after the door slid shut. 

The RK900 was, for the most part, efficient at what he was made to do. However, the process he did things made Hank almost wish he had gotten a different android.

Hank left the room after that, he felt the urge to close the Traci’s eyes but ignored it. 

Outside, his partner was arguing with Floyd Mills, the manager at the Eden club. “This is a police investigation, I must insist that you allowed me to-” 

Floyd’s eyes lit up at the sight of Hank, “Oh! Detective, tell your android to back up. He is trying to get some free time with the androids.”

“I am doing no such thing.” The android took a dangerous step forward, closer to the manager. Hank walked up in between them and turned to the android.

“What’s the problem?”

At Hank’s approach, the android took a step back and relaxed ever so slightly, “I need access to that android,” He- It points to one of the androids on display. “To probe its memory, and he says I can not. Which is problematic as we only have five minutes till they reset.” 

The last thing Hank wanted was a confrontation, and as Connor- _the android_ said, they were running out of time. S with a hefty sigh, Hank walked over to the Android and bought it. He muttered a large selection of curses the entire time, with Connor behind his back looking determined. 

As soon as the door slid open, Connor latched onto the female android.

Hank watched as he everything went quiet for a few seconds. 

Then Connor was back in action, eyes holding an uncontained fire. “It was a blue-haired Traci, she went to leave and then.. came back.” Connor’s eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion. He suddenly furrowed his brows and went off to the next android, getting Hank to buy it once more.

This continued, Co-the andr- _Connor_ , being quiet the whole time, looking determined to find the blue-haired Traci. As they entered the different sections, Hank noticed Connor’s normally white jacket looked all different sorts of colours. He was tempted to take a photo, and probably would have if they weren’t on a case. 

_What was he thinking? That was a stupid waste of time, even if there was no case._

“Over here! It’s in there!” Connor called out, snapping hank away from his own mind. He ran over to where Connor was stood next to a janitor android. Connor was staring at a ‘staff only’ door. 

“Well? Are we gonna go?” Hank gave Connor a light nudge and he nodded his head, proceeding to open the door with an excited energy surrounding him. 

The hallway was short but narrow, a door at the end of it. As they made their way through, Hank made his way to stand in front of Connor, making sure he didn’t burst into the scene first. They soon reached the end. Hank reached out and grasped onto the handle, in one quick movement he opened the door. 

He closed it right away. 

“Lieutenant, what are you doing?” Connor tried to reach for the handle. Hank slapped his hand away.

“Stay here.”

“Lieutenant, it would be-”

 

“ _Stay. Here._ ” Hank pointed to the ground where he stood. 

“But Lieutenant-”

“That’s an order.” He barked out at the android, who instantly stilled. He knew that if he didn’t give him a reason, he would follow anyway and he couldn’t have that. “Make sure she doesn’t come back through the door.” 

Hank hoped it was a good enough reason and opened the door. He slid through it as fast as he could and closed the door, hoping Connor didn’t see what was on the other side.

Connor. _Child Connor_ was in the large room filled with androids, searching through each of the rows. 

He turned as the door shut. Hank glared and stormed over.

“Get outta here, kid,” Hank whispered harshly, hoping that the other Connor would not overhear. 

“No.” He stated, looking up at the faces of the next row of androids

“What the fuck do you mean, ‘no’.” 

“You know what no means Lie-” Connor didn’t have any concern over the volume of his voice.

Hank held a hand up to Connor’s mouth. “Stop. Stop talking and get outta here, we are looking for a deviant. It’s dangerous.” 

Connor wrestled out of his grip and kept looking. “I am looking for the deviant as well.” 

“How the fuck do you-” Hank paused, “The phone.” 

“Well done, detective.” 

Hank was thoroughly _done_ with androids. Hank stayed standing where he was, watching the android look through the rows. “Kid, listen up, I-”

He was cut off by a Traci pushing its way onto Connor, easily getting him to the ground as another android, a blue-haired Traci, ran out and grabbed the hand of the first. “Just my luck,” Hank ran around the junk piled in the large room, pulling his gun out and pointing it towards the androids. “Stop!” 

The first Traci ran forward and pushed against his arm with all its strength, which in turn caused the gun to fly multiple feet away. It then pushed him against a table and grabbed a nearby screwdriver. Hank quickly tried rolled out of the way, it barely managed to scrape against the side of his head.

His back suddenly slammed onto the ground as the Traci got on top of him, still armed with the screwdriver. Hank had nowhere to go as the screwdriver made its way towards his eye.

The Traci’s hand was kicked away from his face, followed by its body being flung off of him. Hank quickly sat up to see the young Connor with his legs wrapped around her torso and hands struggling to attempt to disarm her or shut her down, whichever was easiest. 

Hank made a move forward to help Connor but before he had the chance to, his hair was grabbed and head thrown back against something hard. His eyes went out of focus for a second, enough to allow a hit towards his stomach. Hank started to fight back against the blue haired Traci. 

He managed to push her away for long enough to see the door beginning to open. 

Hank knew that only bad things could come from the RK900 seeing the child. 

The two Traci’s were fighting against Connor, his apparent skills were no match for two androids twice his size and he was easily being taken over. Hank quietly jumped into the fight, pushing Connor away from the two of them and underneath the table, somewhat hidden from the door view.

The door opened to reveal his partner standing in the doorway, Hank watched as the scanned the situation and saw Hank on the ground with the two androids on top of him. The Traci’s also noticed this and decided it was the perfect time to make a getaway before another android joined the fight.

The Traci’s got up and ran towards a tall fence in an attempt to escape.

His partner had other plans. 

RK900 ran towards his gun which still sat on the floor and picked it up, Hank saw nothing in the android's eyes as he pointed it towards the two and shot at them. The first Traci got hit in the head and fell limp to the ground. Blue haired Traci stopped running and knelt down, her eyes blown wide at the sight as she clutched onto her, crying. 

_What._

His partner approached the one left alive. 

“Why... She didn’t do anything!” The blue haired Traci put her face near the other Traci.

Connor was silent as he got closer, putting the gun away in his pocket. 

“I love you.” The blue haired Traci whispered into the other Traci’s ear, a tear flowing down her face and falling onto the other’s face. She quickly stood up, Connor was prepared to attack but she walked forward, not making any sudden movements. 

Hoping that Connor had his full attention on the deviant, Hank turned back to the child Connor still underneath the table. “Leave. Now.” He didn’t need to be told twice as he crawled out from under the table and left the scene.

A loud shot rang through the building. 

Hank snapped his head toward the sound to see his partner standing above the deviant, Thirium flowing from her head and onto the floor below. The gun in her own hand. 

Connor looked shocked and confused. 

Hank pushed himself off of the ground and stood up, glaring at the android. His mouth opened to comment on the death of the two Tracis before quieting down when Connor closed his eyes. 

He reached a hand forward towards the android but Connor moved out of the way. “Let’s go.” 

Connor left the room in a hurry. 

Hank followed. 

He caught up with him outside of the club, he looked upset. “You good?” Hank approached with his hands in his pockets. 

“I failed my mission, I couldn’t get the deviant. I failed.” 

Hank’s mind was filled with many emotions all at once, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Hank assumed he was upset because of the suicide, but for it to be because it caused him to fail in his mission? Hank wasn’t surprised, but he still wanted it to be the other way. 

The car clicked open and Hank slid into the car without another word to the android. 

_Every time he expected something decent from it, it proceeded to show how much of an android it really was._ Hank blamed the younger android for that, no, he blamed both of them for that. They both looked human, they both acted human. They also both acted like each other in some ways. 

Hank decided that he shouldn’t think about that, he needed to drive home. He told himself it was so he could drink some more, but Hank knew deep down it was because he was worried about the younger Connor. He decided he could continue with the case after his ‘drink’.

**9.48pm**

A light was on in his house. He noticed it as he pulled into the driveway. 

Hank let out a breath of relief, assuming that it was Connor who had turned the light on as he entered the house. He wondered for a second if he left a light on, but remembered the older Connor turning them off as they left. 

Hank heard the sounds of clicking as he entered. 

In the living room, Connor sat in the middle of the floor with Sumo’s head set down on top of his lap. His fingers were working fast on the phone, LED spinning yellow. It was like none of that happened.

“Connor!” 

 

Hank’s loud voice caused Connor to look up from the phone, setting it to the side. “Yes, Lieutenant?” 

Hank held up a finger, opening his mouth. He then closed his mouth and put down the finger. “What the _fuck_ were you doing, Connor?”

“I was helping.” 

“No. No, that was not helping. You could’ve gotten yourself killed!” Hank’s voice raised as he walked closer to the android. Connor slid out from under Sumo and stood up, leaving the phone on the floor as he backed away against the wall. _Hank’s recent text messages were on the phone_. “The fuck is this?” 

“Lieutenant, that is not important-”

“Not important? You hacked into my phone, how the fuck did you even _do_ that.” 

“I-”

“It was rhetorical.” Connor went quiet, his LED spinning yellow. Hank set the phone down on the couch side table Anger was bubbling up in his chest from how concerned he was for the young android. How the young android could have _died_. “You need to be more careful, Connor! If you do anything else like that, you could fucking _die_.” 

“I am not alive, I can’t die.” 

“Bullshit. _Bullshit_!” Hank was yelling now, standing over Connor. Connor’s LED was flickering red. “If I wasn’t there you would’ve _died_! If I didn’t put you under that table, you would have _died_. You would have _died_ Connor!” 

Hank was breathing heavily, tears threatened to escape his eyes but he wasn’t planning on letting them through. “And you know what, Connor? You are _going to fucking die_ if you keep it up! You are a fucking child! You are too young to fucking die! You need to listen to me, Cole-” 

Hank froze. 

Connor was shaking.

Hank was bombarded with thoughts of Cole.

Connor had a bright red LED. 

Hank looked up to Connor and saw this, he immediately stopped thinking of himself and leaned over to help Connor.

“Hey. Connor, I’m, ah- I’m sorry, okay? Kid?” Hank reached a timid hand forward and Connor drew his arm close to his chest, holding it with the other. Hank stopped trying to reach for him, “I'm worried, is all. I’d never hurt you, I’m sorry for yelling.” 

Connor’s LED changed to yellow and he gave a synthetic smile, “I am okay, Lieutenant, I just need to recalibrate some things.” 

Hank started to question it, but before he could get the words out Connor had gone still. 

Looking around the room, his eyes found the kitchen. He swiftly made his way over and opened the fridge, snatching a beer from its insides. He opened it unceremoniously, proceeding to drink it’s contents soon after. 

He decided to go to the park, taking his beer with him. 

**11.00pm**

The park was quiet, a gentle breeze making its way through the grass and above the water, leading out to a bridge. Hank’s hair blew into his face whenever he faced the bridge directly, so he settled on staring straight ahead.

The bench was damp, caused by rain from earlier that day. Hank didn’t mind, his thoughts were on other things.

Like how he called Connor down to meet him. RK900 Connor. 

Thinking back on his decision, Hank regretted inviting the android to his spot. It was too late to change his mind however, Connor had just walked past him to look out at the bridge.

His hair barely budged in the gentle breeze.

“I called the station, they picked up the two androids and put them in evidence.” 

Hank nodded, “Good, good.” His mind was on other things. 

“Captain Fowler was disappointed in your lack of appearance, he asked if you were off getting drunk again. It seems you were.”

Hank took a large swig of his drink out of spite. “Well fuck you too.” 

“I don’t mean any ill will, Lieutenant, just stating a fact.” Connor turned to face him, taking a step closer. He had one of those stupid synthetic smiles on his face. “Why did you ask me here?” 

“Why did you shoot those girls?” 

Connor seemed surprised at the mention of the Tracis, “Lieutenant, they were deviants. Besides, I only shot one of them, the other killed itself.” 

“They were in love.”

“They were machines.” 

The two of them had a stare off for a couple of seconds before Hank took another swig of his drink. 

“What about you, Connor? You look human, you sound human, but what are you really?” Hank stood up off the damp bench, feeling his gun in his pocket press against his back. Everything that had happened that day, everything that had happened those past couple of days, everything was swirling in his head. Hank’s alcohol consumption was not helping.

“I am an android, one of multiple prototype RK900s, sent by cyberlife to assist you in discovering more about the deviants. To stop it from spreading.” Hank noticed Connor fidget on his feet, shuffling back half an inch. 

Hank drew out his gun, pointing it towards the android’s head, “I can shoot you right now and nothing will happen, if I hear you correctly.” 

“You.. are correct, Lieutenant.” Hank noticed the small hesitation in his voice. _Probably CyberLife trying to protect its stock._

Hank took another step forward, turning the safety off on the gun, preparing it to shook. Connor stayed still, staring him down. 

“What’s stopping you, Lieutenant. If this is what needs to be done to show you androids are just machines, go ahead.” 

Hank gritted his teeth, his face scrunched up in an intense glare. Connor gave a synthetic smile.

**BANG**

He hated that synthetic smile.


	5. Chapter 5

**November 8th, 10.37am**

Light broke through the trees, beaming down on Hank and Connor. They were sitting down next to the bank of a small river that was starting to ice over for the winter. Sumo was nearby playing in the water, his thick fur getting damp as he attempted to eat a fish swimming nearby. 

Hank turned his attention from the dog playing in the river, instead focusing on the android child sat next to him. After Hank returned home the previous night, nothing seemed wrong with Connor. It was as if nothing had happened. Hank didn’t want to admit it, but it worried him. 

He had brought him to the river as a way to attempt to calm the android down, but it appeared like it was never needed. At least Sumo was having fun. Hank turned back to the dog and watched as he attacked the ice forming along the edge of the river. He had no idea how Sumo could handle the cold water but was glad he was enjoying himself. 

Something was on his mind from last night, however, and he decided now was as good a time as any to talk to Connor about it. 

“Why’d you hack into my phone? How’d you even get my messages to go onto your phone?” Hank barely knew how to work his phone normally, he especially didn’t understand how to _hack_ into someone’s phone. 

Connor turned to him for a second before looking back to Sumo, his eyes displaying no hint of emotion. “I connected them to each other.” 

“Why the fuck did you do that?” 

“I am not going to answer that, Lieutenant.” Connor continued to watch Sumo as he broke off a branch from a tree and carried it around like he was king of the world. 

Hank tried not to let out an annoyed breath, “Then tell me this, why the fuck did you come to my house in the first place.” 

“I am not going to answer that.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Hank ran a hand over his face and leaned forward, obstructing Connor’s view of Sumo. Connor frowned. “Where are you meant to be, where are your owners?” 

“I have a mission.” 

The answer shocked Hank, he was expected him to respond the same way he had to the other questions. “What’s the mission?” 

“I am not go-” 

Hank waved dismissively, “Okay, okay, got it. Don’t have to repeat the same fucking thing like a damned robot.” 

“I am a robot.”

Hank’s hand hit his face with a groan and sat back to his original position. He looked back over to Sumo, who was now barking at his stick as it sailed down the river. Sumo placed his head on the grass and whimpered. 

Another stick was thrown in Sumo’s direction, causing Sumo to bark with joy and grab it. Hank turned to Connor, seeing his eyes pinned on the dog, hands looked to be returning to their normal positions from throwing something. Connor had a small smile on his face as Sumo continued to enjoy playing with the stick he had thrown, it wasn’t a synthetic smile. It looked _real_.

“You’re a deviant, aren’t you, Connor?” Hank hadn’t meant it in a hostile way or as a threat. 

But Connor took it that way. 

Connor immediately stood up, alerting Sumo to stare at him. “I am not deviant.” His voice sounded on the edge of panic, LED spinning yellow with flashes of red. Hank opened his mouth to rephrase what he had said or to take it back but Connor interrupted him. “I am not deviant!” He shouted loudly, causing Sumo to trot over to where they were now both standing. 

“Connor, Connor, calm down.” Hank attempted to move forward to grab Connor’s shoulder but the boy jerked away, his LED a solid red. 

“No! I am not deviant! I am not deviant!” 

Hank hastily nodded his head, “Okay. I got it. Not deviant, now calm the fuck down.” He took a step back, slowly holding his hands up in surrender. 

Connor continued to stand in defensive mode, his LED turning back to a solid yellow. Hank took another step back and sat down to his original position in the grass. A bark was heard from beside them and they both turned their heads to see Sumo wagging his tail, the first half of his body on the ground. 

Connor’s LED returned to a calm blue and Sumo grabbed on to the hem of his shirt, dragging him towards the water. Connor struggled to not land in the water but it was no use as his foot stepped into the ankle-deep water. 

Hank watched as the two proceeded to play. His lips turned up slightly. He thought of Cole. Water appeared in the corner of his eye and Hank was quick to wipe it away, biting down on his lip to stop himself from thinking about his son. 

Instead, he focused on Connor and Sumo playing happily.

**4.06pm**

The doors of the elevator began to slide shut. 

Hank had been called to an investigation at Stratford Tower. An android had broken in and broadcasted a video demanding rights for androids. Hank hadn’t seen the video himself, but he had heard many people around him talking about it in whispers while looking around to all the nearby androids.

Before the elevator doors shut, a hand shot out between them, causing the doors to re-open. RK900 Connor slid into the elevator, staring straight ahead at the doors as they fully shut. Hank’s hopes for the android to never return were not granted. In a way, he was almost happy about that, he quickly brushed it to the side. 

The ride up was silent, neither of them speaking to the other for the majority of the journey to the 79th floor. Halfway up, Connor reached his hand to his pocket but stopped as he began to put his fingers inside. He pulled them out and remained standing still. 

Hank stared at the android after that, curious about what he was about to pull out of his pockets. Despite being curious, he didn’t question it, not wanting to get the android started in conversation. Connor tended to talk a lot, Hank was curious as to why he wasn’t talking then. Not that he cared.

Once they reached level 79, the two of them stepped out of the elevator. There were people littering the hallway. Hank was not impressed. Instead of making a sarcastic remark, Hank grit his teeth as someone walked up to explain everything that had gone down. 

Hank listened to what he was saying, taking the information in and observing their surroundings as they walked. Connor was following behind the two of them. Hank glanced back for a second, the android looked to be walking more robotically than normal. Like how he did when they first met. Hank realised he only noticed because the change was sudden rather than over time.

Something was off about the picture but Hank brushed it away as he normally did, paying attention to the rundown on the situation. 

As they entered the room, an FBI agent approached them. Hank was preparing to deal with the man who looked like an overgrown child with his facial expressions, but before the agent had a chance to speak, his partner interrupted him. 

“Agent Perkins, my name is Connor. I am the android sent by Cyberlife. Your body language says that you are about to create a confrontation or argument between yourself and Lieutenant Anderson. So I suggest that you back off and not disturb the case.” 

Perkins pursed his lips and tilted his nose slightly up, looking down on the two of them despite being significantly shorter. “Just came over to tell you not to fuck up my crime scene.” 

“This is not your fucking crime scene.” Hank scoffed and raised his eyebrows, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Perkins said nothing more, he only smiled and walked away. “Fucker,” Hank muttered under his breath as he was leaving. 

He returned his attention to the Officer who was waiting patiently for their meeting to end. Connor attempted to touch his shoulder but Hank glared him away. “Don’t touch me.” Connor nodded and they both listened to the Officer. 

Once the officer was finished Connor walked off towards the front panel where the majority of controls were set out. Hank went to follow behind him before realising what he was doing and turned the other way to inspect the androids spotted in the corner of his vision. 

The kitchen looked undisturbed, three androids stood tall near a counter. He approached the three, giving them all a once over. None of them looked to be deviant in his books so he continued to do a once over in the kitchen.

Soon after, Hank determined that there was nothing of interest in the kitchen and turned to leave. As he left, Hank could have sworn he saw one of the androids shift their head to look at him. 

The investigation continued as it normally did until Hank was ready to leave. As he was preparing to leave, however, Hank saw Connor enter into the kitchen. Hank ignored it and continued to walk back towards the elevator.

“What have you discovered?” Hank turned his head to be greeted with Perkins. 

“Oh fuck off, Perkins. You have your own set of eyes, don’t you?” Hank would have taken the RK900 over that prick any day. He was also hoping that Connor would finish up in the kitchen quickly and come back out to talk to him, anything to get away. 

“Lieutenant Anderson, it’d be in your best interest to-”

Hank took a quick step forward towards Perkins, the latter not so much as flinching. “Listen, I don’t care what you think is in my ‘best interest’. I know what’s in my best interest. And right now? It’s for you to leave me the fuck alone.” 

“Okay then, Anderson, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” 

“Fuck you.” 

Perkins left Hank standing in the middle of the hallway as he walked over to another person in a fancy outfit. Hank couldn’t wait to leave the scene, so he turned back towards the elevator and started to walk. 

As he was walking, something quickly ran past him. Hank barely had any time to notice that it was one of the androids from the kitchen before he heard Connor call out its deviancy from behind. At the same time, the deviant pulled a gun off of a security guard, quickly shooting them and turning to face the people located in the crowded hallway.

All too fast, Hank saw Connor reach for a gun in a police officer’s pocket as the deviant held up the gun to shoot. Two guns went off at the same time, Hank snapped his head towards the opposite end of the hall to see the deviant dead. Hank also saw one of the FBI agents on the ground with a bullet through his leg. 

Hank heard the RK900 approach him from behind, he turned to face him and took in his appearance. Connor had blue blood over his chest and leaking from his hand that held the gun. It was then Hank realised that Connor had saved everyone in that hallway.

Connor glared at the body on the ground, his LED spinning yellow. “I almost had it.” 

“You saved innocent lives, Connor.” 

“It wasn’t good enough.”

Hank stood at a loss for words as Connor turned to return into the news station. He quickly kicked back into gear enough to yell after him. “The fuck are you going?”

“The roof.” Connor stopped and turned around to Hank, “Aren’t you coming with me?”

Hank didn’t appreciate the attitude of the RK900. “Connor. A lot of shits happened, and we got the information we need.” 

“There were tracks leading up to the roof, we need to check it out.” 

Hank shook his head, “You check it out I’m leaving.” He turned to head back towards the elevator, soon after hearing footsteps directly behind him.

“Wait!” Hank heard Connor’s voice and turned around to face the android, “I can’t stay if you leave.”

Hank noticed that Connor’s eyes held something in them. It looked as if he held negative feelings somewhere inside of those cold eyes. Hank mentally shook his head, the android was just that, an android. “No. I’m leaving.” With that Hank left, Connor following behind. 

**5.15pm**

As they arrived at the police station, a CyberLife truck was driving away. Hank eyed the vehicle suspiciously for a quick second before continuing his walk towards the doors of the DPD. 

Once inside, he started for his desk but before he made it Gavin Reed approached the two of them, a smirk on his face. “You hear what happened, Tin can? Your suspect went haywire, killed himself just like that last one.” 

Hank expected Connor to not be bothered by the situation. He had never been bothered before so why would he that time? Hank was wrong. Connor furrowed his eyebrows and squinted his eyes before looking back up to Reed with a straight face. 

“I see.” His voice was as normal as ever but his eyes held a different story.

Reed left the scene, the smirk still painted onto his face. Hank turned his gaze to Connor to listen to whatever the android was going to say about the topic but found him to be gone. He did a three sixty, eyes spotting the Android entering the cell area. Hank followed him.

The cells were all empty except for a human in the first. The last cell’s glass wall had a few specks of blue on it with a crack near one of them. Hank saw RK900 standing in front of the cell, eyes scanning. 

As he approached, Hank noticed the android’s LED was spinning red. Connor’s hands were slowly clenching and unclenching, an unsettled look on his face. He looked scared. He looked _angry_.

“There is evaporated blue blood all over the wall,” Hank noticed the slight fault in his voice, it sounded restrained to the point a light static was heard. Connor closed his eyes tightly, his LED throbbing down to yellow. “It was Detective Reed, he must have had communications with android and caused him to self-destruct.”

The android was showing what Hank classified as emotions, although he decided it wasn’t a good idea to bring it up. “Let’s get back to the case.”

“You left the case. You left the scene, I wanted to continue, you wanted to leave.” The android turned to him, Hank felt his heart rate speed up as he instinctively took a small step back. 

“Calm the f-” _It was not a good idea to swear at that moment_. “Calm down, Connor.” 

Connor did not calm down, he instead took another step towards the Lieutenant. “I am not going to fail this mission.” 

Hank nodded his head, frozen from the fear of the android towering over him, LED blaring red. To his relief, another officer entered the area they were located.

“Everything okay in here?” 

The RK900 casually took a step back and nodded his head, “Yes, Officer Chen, everything is okay.” 

Chen gave the two a polite smile, “Good, I was told to tell you about the deviant but it seems you have already figured it out. I’ll leave you to it.” With that, she left for the breakroom, where Gavin was waiting for her. 

Hank opened his mouth to confront the Android, but before he had the chance he walked away. Hank turned to him with furrowed eyebrows, “And where the fuck are you going?” 

“To file paperwork.” 

Hank called his bluff, the android was heading towards the break room. Instead of questioning further, Hank walked to his desk and sunk into his chair. He heard a yell of ‘Fucking tin can’ followed by a thud coming from the break room. 

Hank decided to ignore it.


End file.
